Flip the Script
by Rica-shay
Summary: This story is the movie rewritten with Brian's charcter as a female, Briana Spilner.


Author: Ginsing )

Title: Flip the Script, TFATF Rewrite

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: The characters from TFATF are not mine. But you should all know that. One character that _is_ mine is Briana. And of course you know why I write...because I love writing!

Summary: This story is basically the movie with Brian's character rewritten as a female character.

Chapter 1 Practice Makes Perfect 

Briana maintained a sophisticated walk although her heart felt as if it were about to rip out of her chest. The anxiousness brewing inside her was becoming unbearable. **_Get over it. This is not that big a deal, _**she kept repeating to herself. With a determined attitude, she marched on. Her long dark hair bounced on her shoulders as she made her way down the deserted parking lot. Off in the distance, she could see the beast she would soon have to tame; a lime green Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Briana stopped in front of the racer and removed the silver sunglasses she was wearing from her face. Squinting in the sunlight, she took in a deep breath. The young woman couldn't believe she'd have to race the NOS injected car in a street race that night.

"Well, if this is what I gotta do to be a detective, so be it," she shrugged as she tossed the keys to the car in the air and caught them before they had a chance to fall to the ground. Without wasting anymore time, Briana pulled open the driver's side door to the Eclipse and took a seat. She had to admit, the custom seats felt nice and comfy to sit in in. Placing the key into the ignition she started the car and also had to admit that the car did sound nice when it purred. "All right...seatbelt," she reached for the safety device that was so important.

The Eclipse's engine roared as Briana stepped on the gas pedal twice. **_Hey, the car sounds good too_**. She took a moment to reflect. Her older brothers had always had a thing for cars, but cars were something that never interested her very much. Daniel, her older brother by 3 years loved anything that was supped up for performance. Everyday, he'd be in the driveway under the hood of his Civic. Rick, on the other hand, who was 5 years older than Briana, loved any car that was luxurious. BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, and Viper, were all car names that would have his attention. That explains why he didn't stop until he earned enough money to buy a Cadillac Escalade when he was old enough.

After pressing the clutch to the floor, Briana put the car in first gear. "Go time," she whispered while flooring the gas. The Eclipse shot forward in a burst of speed. She checked the odometer. It was rising fast. She quickly shifted to second gear, then third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. The scenery surrounding the parking lot was now a blur of colours whizzing by, like you would see in a cartoon. Once again Briana checked the odometer. It was now approaching 140mph. **_Come on, come on, _**she urged the car. For the past few days it had a habit of topping out at 140mph. Glancing at the tachometer, she saw the needle was in the red zone and the little light was on. Her eyes bulged. **_Don't do this to me now!_**

With a violent jerk, the car began to twirl. Briana hung on to the steering wheel for dear life as the Mitsubishi spun out of control. The tires squealed with a loud shriek and smoke trailed behind. She was getting dizzy and shut her eyes tight until the car came to an abrupt stop. Briana opened her eyes one by one and looked around. A bit of anger built up inside of her.

"Shit!" she banged the dashboard with her fist.

Chapter 2Watch Your Back 

Back in a more familiar car—a red Ford Lightning—Briana sped down the empty Los Angelus street, following what had become her daily routine over the past three weeks. She'd meet with her superiors in the morning, pay a visit to Harry shortly afterwards, practice racing the Eclipse, and then head over the Toretto's Corner Grocery to engage in whatever interaction she could with the investigation's suspects.

After rounding a corner smoothly, her destination came into view. Briana slowed down and entered a small street that lead right to the Toretto's store. She parked the truck right across from the corner grocery, grabbed a magazine that was on the dashboard, and confidently stepped out. From outside, she could see the silhouette of who she was sure was Dominic Toretto. He was sitting in a small room located behind the serving area. Dominic was in that room almost every day when Briana came in. He was usually either going over the books for his garage or lounging around.

A loud growl from her stomach prompted Briana to get moving. With a diva's confidence, she walked across the street, past the outdoor dinning area, and into the grocery. Inside of the store was empty, so she took her regular seat up front. With a loud thud, she plopped her magazine on the counter to make her presence known. Dominic was the only one in the store; Mia was nowhere in sight.

Growing impatient, Briana used a less subtle approach to get acknowledged. "Yo, excuse me but can I get some service over here!" She hollered at Dominic with a little attitude. Briana watched as Dominic's head rose from the mountain of books he was buried in.

The man rose from his work and spun around to look at her. He smirked as he reached back to the table for a can of pop he had opened a few minutes before Briana had arrived. "Let me guess. Tuna on white no crust, right?" Dominic spoke in a 'matter of fact' voice.

"I dunno. How is it?" Briana said, shrugging her shoulder. She opened up her magazine and began flipping through the pages casually. She occasionally glanced back over to Dominic to see his reaction.

"Every day for the past three weeks you've been coming in here and askin' how the tuna is." Dominic took a sip from his pop can as he strode towards Briana.

"It was crappy yesterday, it was crappy the day before, and guess what? It hasn't changed." Mia said with a sheepish grin as she snuck up on the two from off the street. "Sorry I'm late," she told Dominic before heading around the back to put away her purse and textbooks.

"I'll have the tuna," Briana declared, although she already knew from before that she'd have the tuna.

"No crust?" Dominic asked.

"No crust."

Dominic was expecting Briana and already had her tuna sandwich ready for when she came. All he had to do was head to the fridge and take it out. In the meantime, Briana continued flipping through the magazine. She didn't really read any of the articles. They didn't interest her. Everything was about cars. Instead, she mostly glimpsed over the pictures.

"Here you go," Dominic placed a plate in front of Briana.

Briana immediately went for the meal. She was really hungry. Although she was busy with her food, she made sure she kept an eye on Dominic in the corner of her eye. She could tell he was staring at the magazine she was reading. Watching his expression, Briana could tell Dominic was familiar with the magazine. Without her permission, he flipped a page and rotated the magazine in order to see the next page properly. He smiled at the image; a green and red Mitsubishi Eclipse.

By watching him, Briana could tell that she seemed a little out of the ordinary to Dominic. Hell, her cover was out of the ordinary for most people. Its not often a person comes across a young black woman that was extremely interested in high performance racing cars.

"Hey wh—,"Dominic opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound on hot rod engines.

Briana didn't have to look. She already knew who was coming. It was Dominic's clique. She watched as the cars pulled up in front of the store and parked simultaneously. **_Let's see_**, Briana quizzedherself_. **A purple Nissan 240 SX. That's Letty's car. A yellow Nissan Skyline, that's Leon. The blue Nissan Maxima is Vince's. And last but not least, the Jetta is Jesse's car. **_She smiled, proud at her accomplishment. A month ago she wouldn't have been able to tell what half of those cars were.

Without a word, Dominic scurried back to his seat in the back of the store. When he was once again seated in his chair, he began flipping through a few pages of the books he was immersed in before Briana had arrived, acting as if nothing had happened.

Mia took this time to saunter up to the counter with a bottle of water in hand. She rested her elbows on the counter and her head in her hands. She let out a loud sigh, which blew a strand of black hair out of her face. "Here comes trouble," she warned Briana in a low voice. "You know that if Letty saw you talking to Dominic just now...she'll have another fit."

After turning around to see what Letty the party of four was doing, Briana faced Mia once more and rolled her eyes. The four friends were looking under the hood of Vince's car. "Letty needs to take a chill pill. I'm not here for her man. I just like the tuna."

"Just make sure you watch yourself because here she comes." Mia stood up straight. "Hey guys." She greeted Vince, Jesse, Leon, and Letty with a cheerful tone. The guys all said 'hi' to her except for Letty, who silently took a seat beside Briana at the counter. Giving her a truly intense look, Letty just sat there.

She made a conscious choice not to look at Letty, but Briana could tell Letty was taking a long hard stare at her. **_Don't start anything with her today, don't start anything with her today, _**Briana repeated to herself. She tried to ignore everything that happened between them in the past, but it was hard to when Letty and her had gotten into five physical arguments in the past three weeks. Finally, Briana got annoyed and turned to look Letty straight in the eyes. She gave the Latino woman a good up and down, and Letty did the same.

"Letty, stop it," a ruff voice interrupted their staring game. Briana knew the voice belonged to Vince.

"Mind your own business, V." Letty continued glaring at Briana.

Vince sighed and then decided to try and reason with Briana. "Hey Bri Bri," he called to her.

Briana, although she didn't take an eye off Letty, took in what Vince said and silently chucked to herself. Bri Bri was a nickname that Vince had given to her last week. "What is it?" She responded in a soft tone.

"You look good." Vince complimented her. And Briana did look nice dressed in black flared jeans, a yellow tank top, and white canvas running shoes. She had on large gold hoop earrings and a gold chain round her neck. The jewelry flattered her light complexion perfectly.

Briana finally turned to look at him. Vince was smiling and she could tell he truly meant what he said, because Vince was giving her a good elevator stare with his eyes. "Thank you." She grinned while flipping her hair over her shoulder, which Vince found amusing. Deciding not to cause any trouble, Briana looked to Mia and announced she was leaving. Grabbing her magazine, she rose out of her seat and begun to trot over to her car. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

As she walked out of the store, Briana was immersed by the sunlight. It was a great feeling to have the warmth touch her skin. The fresh air rejuvenated her beyond belief. It was like what had happened in the grocery with Letty was light-years ago. A lot of people Briana knew complained about the harsh Los Angelus heat, but when it was extremely hot outside was when Briana felt most at home. As far as she was concerned, she'd rather die of heat stroke than freeze her butt off in cold weather.

Briana was about three feet from the pick up when she felt a rough force push her forwards and into the door of the red truck. Her shoulder banged against the metal and a fiery pain overtook her whole arm. She wasn't surprised when she turned around just in time to see Letty's back speed walking its way back towards the store. "Oh no she didn't." Briana whispered to herself. Rage filled her from head to toe. She tried to ignore it earlier but Letty pushing her was the last straw.

Gathering up all of her strength, Briana hustled to catch up with Letty. She used all the force she could and violently pushed Letty. Although Letty didn't fly to the floor, like Briana intended for her to do, she did trip forwards sending a cloud of dust into the air. "Don't mess with me, chica," Briana hissed as she walked away, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Briana smiled in triumph but her victory didn't last long. She heard footsteps rushing up behind her, but she did not have time to turn and react. She felt a brut force tackle her lower body and she was forced forwards. Briana fell flat on her face to the black tarmac that made up the road. "Owe!" She screeched as Letty used her foot to keep Briana down and pulled her hair.

**_That's it she's bit off more than she can chew! _**Briana said to herself. With all her might, she shifted her weight and rose to her knees. Letty was sent backwards. Briana watched the Latino woman stumble for her balance. When both women were up on their feet they took a minute to breathe. Sensing that Letty was going to attack, Briana stood in a stance. Sure enough Letty rushed forwards and started a right hand punch. Utilizing her police training, Briana used her left hand to block and then used the other to choke her opponent. She chuckled as Letty reached for her throat, trying to break free from Briana.

Without warning, an arm reached around Briana's waist and tore her away from Letty. "Let me go Dominic!" She pounded the arm. She knew it was Dominic because of the tan of the skin. "I'm serious Dom. Let me go!"

"Relax!" Dominic said in an assertive tone. Briana decided to listen and desisted fighting him. She calmed down and raised her arms in a surrender position. She felt Dominic let go of her gently. Not wanting to give any more trouble, Briana took a few steps away from him and from Letty. She began to pace in a circle, wiping away the grease that rubbed on her after brushing against Dominic.

When she was certain she was clean, Briana halted pacing and glanced at where Letty was standing. Vince and Leon were standing in the way. Letty was cursing to herself. When Letty cast a nasty stare at her, Briana returned the favour by making a 'come and get me' gesture. Letty lunged forwards but Leon caught her in time.

"Letty, don't push it!" Dominic hollered to his girlfriend. Briana smiled, but it disappeared when Dominic turned to look at her. He gave both an angry and disappointed glare.

"She was in my face," Briana pointed out.

"Well, now I'm in your face." His deep voice almost sent chills down Briana's back. She would have said something back to him but she was distracted by Jesse. She hadn't noticed the teenager standing on the side before but now because he was only a few feet away from her, she noticed him. He had out a pencil and paper and was jotting something down quickly. Since he was concentrating on the truck, Briana figured he was copying down the license plate.

"You know what? I'm tired of this bull" Letty's voice interrupted everything. Briana and everyone else turned to look at her. "You work for Harry right?"

Briana nodded, not sure what Letty was getting at. "Yeah, I just started."

"You were just fired."

"What?" Briana and Dominic said in unison.

"Let," Dominic grabbed Letty's arm.

"Make it happen!" She screamed at him before shrugging away and heading inside.

As everyone else followed Letty back into the store, Briana stood outside, dumbfounded. **_Letty's crazier than I thought._**

**Chapter 3 In Need of a Little NOS**

Briana tore through the front door of the Racer's Edge and charged towards the back. She cursed under her breath, and swung her fists into the air every few seconds.

"Hey Dominic, I appreciate what you did in a big way." She heard Harry engaged in a conversation on the phone with Dominic. "Dominic, I owe you." In the back of her eye, she saw Harry slam the phone down onto the receiver and start to follow her into the back. "Wait just a minute."

**_Harry don't start with me right now!_** Briana shook her head as she headed to the sink to wash up. She turned on the tap and cupped her hands together as the water poured into her palms. When her hands were full, Briana leaned forwards and washed her face.

"Briana!"

"I swear I hate Letty and she better watch out. I can't wait until I get to haul her butt to jail," she ignored Harry's ranting, even though it was impossible to miss him; he presently stood right behind her.

"Briana!"

"The next time she picks a fight with me, I'm gonna lay the smakdown on her ass. LAPD style. You know what I'm sayin'?"

"Briana!" Harry yelled out louder than ever.

"What?" Briana stopped what she was doing.

"Your messin' with my business. Maybe you don't understand but when Dominic drives he's golden. Kids pour in here, they want everything he has, every performance part, and they pay cash!" Harry explained hastily.

Briana shifted her weight and placed her hands on her hips with an attitude. "What did Dominic say?"

"You don't wanna know," Harry took a few steps away from the young woman and gazed out to the showroom of the store.

"Tell me, what did he say?"

"He wants you outta here," he hesitated to answer.

"He wants me out of here?" Briana started cleaning herself up again. She trotted over to a suitcase that was rested on the ground and plopped it onto her makeshift bed, which was only a foot away. The back of the store presently served as her living quarters. She opened the suitcase to find a pile of clothes. Searching threw the mess of shirts, pants and underwear; she finally found a shirt than wasn't wrinkled. Rising back to her feet, Briana reached for the bottom hem of her tank top and began to take it off. But, remembering Harry was in the room, she swirled around and signaled for him to turn his back. He did so and she switched shirts. "What did you say to Dom?"

"What do you think I said?" Harry began to rub his temples. When Briana didn't say anything, he went on. "I said good help is hard to find these days."

When Harry started to freak out, Briana thought she should act fast and calm him down. "Hey," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax." While trying to comfort Harry, something caught her eye. She immediately began walking towards the object her eyes became fixated with. "NOS. I need NOS," was all she said as she left Harry's side.

"No." Harry followed her.

By the time Harry caught up with her, Briana was already in front of the giant spinning display of NOS tanks. The lights from the store glistened off of the silver tanks, which made her eyes glimmer as she looked them up and down. "My car topped out at 140 mph this morning. I need NOS."

"Amateurs don't use Nitrous Oxide," Harry tried to persuade the young woman. "I've seen the way you drive, Bri. You've got a heavy foot. You'll blow yourself to pieces." He ended his warning with a whisper.

"I need one of these. One of the big ones," Briana tapped a tank with one of her manicured fingernails. She completely ignored Harry's warning. Lately, she'd made a habit of ignoring Harry's warnings. "Actually, no, make it two. Oh, and Harry, I need it by tonight." She gave him a friendly peck on the cheek before exiting the store.

**Chapter 4Worthy**

Briana scanned over the massive crowd of racers that were lounged all along the street as she coasted past in her car. There were over a hundred faces at the scene that night and not one of them were familiar to her. Finally finding a spot, Briana put the Mitsubishi Eclipse into reverse and backed into a space where she could park.

It was a little over a month ago when Briana was first assigned to take on the job as an undercover officer. She'd been on the force for about two and a half years and was ready for a promotion. The title of detective sounded very nice to her; being a uniform officer was growing old and she was ready to move on. Briana took multiple courses and participated in many seminars to prove to her superior—Sergeant Tanner—that she was ready to take on a higher rank.

When Lieutenant Bilkins, an agent from the FBI approached Sergeant Tanner with his intensions to put an officer undercover on the case of the big rig hijackings, Briana was Tanner's first choice, promising her a promotion if things went well. Right away, Briana went to work in order to get ready for the job. And after all those weeks of research and training to race a high performance car, tonight was the night for her to strut her stuff.

"Well, here goes nothin'." Briana took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking a little bit, but she was determined to get the job done. She reached for the door handle and pulled the mechanism. In a sleek style, Briana put one foot on the ground outside, then the other, and stepped out. She slammed the door shut and strutted around to the front of the car.

As she glanced over the scene, she chuckled at the different girls that were there. A lot of them were dressed in mini skirts that tested every law of physics in the book, or wore a shirt that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Earlier, she had thought about dressing like them to fit in, but then she thought that if she wanted to gain respect as a legit racer, she couldn't do it looking like a whore. Instead of wearing the trashiest outfit she could find, she decided to go for a look that was more street.

Starting with the hair, Briana made sure her long dark locks were straightened so they wouldn't give her any hassle throughout the night. She wore a thick black chocker around her neck and simple matching studs in her ears. Next was a unique black tank top that cut off two inched short of her belly button. The shirt was slashed three times above the cleavage area so the green army print bikini top Briana wore underneath could be seen. The same was done around the belly area so her toned abs were partially visible. Her pants were made of leather, which fit her body perfectly. Around her right knee she tied a matching army banana, a style she hadn't done since her days in high school. On her feet were black boots with three-inch hollow heels for a nice girly look. And to top it of, she wore black wristbands around both wrists. She was proud of her ensemble. She purposely dressed in black and green to match the Eclipse. The total effect looked street but sweet.

Briana scanned the crowd once again, but this time she found a face she recognized. Over to her left was a man named Hector something or other. She really wasn't sure how to pronounce his last name. He was leaning back against his Prisma coloured Honda Civic hatchback with two pretty girls in his arms and a crew of three other guys named Rick Sanchez, Paulie Carmichael, and Carlo Perez.

Hector was a suspect in the investigation. He was 25 years old and unlike Briana, lived in L.A. his whole life. He ran a successful garage not too far away. His wrap sheet included charges such as possession of illegal weapons, street racing, speeding, some drug charges and a couple of DUI's. On the streets, if anyone wanted to race, he was the one to contact. Briana really didn't think he was the one behind the high jackings but she was still required to investigate him.

"He ma," a voice called to Briana from a distance. She turned in the direction of the voice to see a young black man approaching her. She also knew this man's identity. He was Edwin Sharp, a frequent racer. He wasn't really a suspect but because he was a friend of the main suspect, Dominic Toretto, she decided to do a little research on him too. Edwin was 23, the same age as Briana. In both his pre-teen and teenage years, he was regularly in and out of juvie. But since he turned 20, he seemed to be keeping himself out of trouble.

"So tell me," Edwin went on as he casually strolled up beside Briana. "Is that yours, or your man's?" He said referring to the Eclipse.

"First of all, this dime's flyin' solo. And second, of course this is my car. I'm standing next to it aren't I?" Briana said slowly.

"You know...Edwin happens to know a few things, ma. And one of the things Edwin knows is, its not how you stand by your car, it's how you race your car. You better learn that."

Briana didn't know what to say to that, so she just stayed silent. As she waited for Edwin to say something else, she heard some other people talking about her from afar, and it was Hector's crew.

"Hold up man," Hector told his boys. "Hey hold up, hold up. Check out that girl over there, man." Briana glanced over just in time to watch Hector head over to her and Edwin.

"Sweet ride, mami," he complimented the car while looking her up and down. What you runnin' under there?"

Briana simply grinned giving Hector a mysterious look.

"You gonna make me find out the hard way?"

"Hell yeah," Briana smirked.

"You brave, you brave," Hector began to chuckle. "They call me Hector. I got a last name too, but I can't pronounce it, so...."

"That's alright. I'm Briana Spilner."

"Typical" Hector nodded up and down.

"What?" Briana didn't understand.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady," winked Hector. "See that over there?" He directed Briana's attention to his car. "That's mine. It's my baby. But I ain't cuttin' her loose tonight."

"Why not?"

"It's 'cause I'm goin' legit. Tryin' to get on the NIRA circuit. You heard about that?"

"Of course I have," Briana acted excited. "That's hot, you keep at that."

"So what's up with you?" He changed the topic of conversation.

"Me?" Briana pointed at herself. "I'm just waitin' to get a piece of Toretto."

"You better get in line." Edwin cut in abruptly. "So I guess your serious 'bout racin' huh? Well let me tell you..." Edwin trailed off suddenly. "Hear that?" He looked at Briana and then back into the crowd.

She listened carefully and she heard the sound on engines making their way down the street. Briana nodded her head. She knew exactly who was coming.

"Here he comes," said Edwin before he walked off.

Everyone except Briana rushed off to the five cars that had just pulled up, which belonged to Dominic and the rest of his crew. She figured she should stand back and observe what happens. She watched as Dominic exited his car and was greeted by a mass of admirers both male and female. A few feet away, Letty shut the door to her car and slowly made her way to where Dominic was sweet-talking a couple of blonds. She did not look too happy. Whatever Letty said to the girls must have been insulting, Briana thought, because the girls were gone a few seconds later.

"That's Letty and her bad-ass attitude for ya." Briana whispered.

Next, Hector and Edwin made their way up to Dominic and the three of them, plus one Asian guy began to talk. When money was pulled out and placed in Hector's hand, Briana took that as her cue to get over there.

"Good luck guys," Dominic's deep voice rang in the air.

"Hey wait, hold up." Briana yelled from back where she was. All the men stopped to see where the voice was coming from. Briana had to shove a few people aside before she reached to front of the group but when she was front and centre, she enjoyed seeing the stunned look of Dominic and the rest of the guys. She saw Vince in the corner and quickly winked at him. "I don't have any cash on me, but I do have the pink slip to my car." She pointed to the Eclipse.

"Hey, you just can't climb in the ring with Ali because you think you box." Jesse quickly opposed her taking part in the big race. Briana saw that a few people in the crowd were nodding their heads in agreement with Jesse's statement.

Briana came up with a snappy comeback on the spot and pointed towards Letty. "She already knows I can box. So check it out. It's like this. If I lose, the winner takes my car, clean and clear. But if I win, I take the cash, and I take the respect."

Instantly people started laughing.

"Respect?" Dominic taunted.

"I'm a woman tryin' to make it in a man's world." She was referring to the street racing world. "To me, it's more important."

The huge grin on Dominic's face slowly started to diminish, as if he understood what she was trying to say. He then looked from Briana, to the Mitsubishi, and then back to Briana. "That you car?" He questioned.

Briana said nothing. Instead she nodded to give him her answer.

Dominic silently gestured for Jesse to follow him to the Eclipse. And of course, everyone else followed as well.

Briana then made her way to the car to pop the hood for them to take a look at what she was running. As soon as it was opened, Jesse stuck his head under there, calling out every piece of high performance equipment he saw.

**_Jesse_**, Briana began to think of him. **_He's so young._** If in fact, Dominic was the one behind the high jackings, that probably meant Jesse was a part of it too. Jesse was only 20 years old and was a good enough kid. His record was clean when Briana checked for a police file on him. But there was the fact that he was a good driver, which meant that he could be one of those executing the precision driving in each of the heists. He was also very good with computers, which meant there might be a chance he was using his skills to get inside information on the trucks.

"She's got enough NOS in there to blow himself up, period." Edwin ranted to Dominic, who agreed with him. His words brought Briana out of her thoughts.

"So what do ya say? Am I worthy?" Briana asked with anticipation both on her face and in her voice.

"We don't know yet. But you're in." Dominic gave the word. "Let's go."

As Briana headed back to her car, she couldn't help but feel extremely happy. She was in the race! **_That detective badge is as good as mine._**

**Part 5The Race Is On**

Hearing the roar of the crowd made Briana more nervous than she had ever been in her entire life. Her breath was heavy, she was sweating, she shook from head to toe, and her heart felt as if was going to burst through her rib cage and out of her chest. Attempting to get a grip of her unruly nerves, Briana gripped the steering wheel tightly. 

"You're gonna win. You're gonna win. _I'm_ gonna win," She repeated to herself in a low voice. Her foot pushed against the gas pedal and the car's engine revved. "I have to win," She whispered.

Remembering the adjustments Harry had made to the car, Briana spun around and got busy. She opened the valves to the two NOS tanks in the back seat and then returned her attention to the front of the car. There was a sudden hissing sound, indicating that the tanks had been opened. The needles to the NOS gauges began to rise slowly. After flicking a couple of switches, Briana went to work getting out the miniature computer that controlled the fuel system of the Eclipse. Briana began typing away at the keyboard, making sure that her car would give nothing but a perfect performance.

When everything was done, Briana leaned back into her seat feeling more confident. **_I have to win because if I don't..._**

VROOM! VROOM!

The heavy sound of a car's revving engine echoed throughout the air. The sound was loud and mighty, overtaking every other sound on the street. Briana turned her hear right, in the direction of where the revving was coming from. It was Dominic's car. **_If I don't, Dominic will, _**she picked up her thoughts.

After taking a good look at Dominic's car, Briana took a quick glance at the rest of her competitors. Kevin, who owned a white Honda Civic, was busy fiddling with something in his car, after a while, she realized it was a built in PS2. Edwin on the other hand, was preoccupied with a woman that was bent over at the window of his car. Briana shook her head from side to side, wondering why a woman would degrade herself by using herself as a prize.

Briana returned her attention to the front, where Hector was signaling for the racers to get ready. The crowd began to cheer louder than ever; it lifted Briana's spirits and made her feel psyched. She revved the engine of the Eclipse, knowing that in a few seconds, the race would start. All of her concentration was focused on Hector, and when his hand waved downwards, she punched the gas.

The Eclipse fished tailed as it ripped away from the starting line; not the start the Briana envisioned but she had to press on. She'd prepared for this too long to give up hope that she'd win.

In front of her, Dominic's RX-7 was undoubtedly in first place, leading the pack of furious machines. Kevin's Civic was trailing behind Dominic in second place, and Edwin's Integra was about a car's length in front of Briana in third place. He would be the first person she'd have to pass. Briana quickly entered a code into the on board computer. When the computer okayed her command, she used her thumb to push one of the red buttons attached to her steering wheel. The car jolted forwards, passing Edwin and leaving him behind. A few seconds later, she passed Kevin's car.

A proud smirk was embedded in Briana's features. She was very pleased with herself but she still had to pass Dominic. Entering the same code into the computer, she got ready to give the car a second boost of NOS, but to her surprise the computer said otherwise. Stunned, Briana looked at the screen. The words 'DANGER TO MANIFOLD' were flashing across it, sounding a warning that wasn't easy to ignore. "Shut up!" She yelled at the computer, putting it away. Ignoring its alarm, she decided to use another shot of NOS and the car flew forwards at a speed she hadn't expected.

The sound of metal hitting metal suddenly began to ring throughout the car. Briana looked over, curious of what the noise was and realized it was the sound of bolts pulling out of the floor panel one by one. She watched as the floorboard for the passenger side became loose and dragged on the street, It hung by one or two of the remaining bolts. Sparks flew both inside and outside of the car like a firework and Briana struggled to keep control. She used her hand to shield herself from the sparks and shortly after, the metal piece flew off into the night.

With a great burst of speed, the Eclipsed exploded forwards. A few seconds later, she passed Dominic's car and was only a short way away from the finish line. A grin took over her whole face; she couldn't believe she was going to win. But, at the last minute, she watched as Dominic's car passed hers with amazing speed.

As she crossed the finish line, the Eclipse once again began to fishtail and spun out of control. When it came to a stop, Briana breathed heavily. The spinout scared her to death. When she stopped trembling, she looked herself over. **_Not cuts, no bruises. No broken bones...I'm okay. But the car doesn't look like it is, _**she thought as she overlooked the damage. The engine was smoking, paint and bits and pieces from the outside were stripping, and of course she couldn't forget about the missing floorboard. **_My superiors aren't going to be too happy about this. _**

As Briana put the car in gear to return to the crowd, the realization set in...she'd lost. She sighed heavily. She'd just lost an 80 thousand dollar car to Dominic Toretto. But in spite of that, she figured it was a blessing in disguise. If the car was damaged, maybe Dominic would want to work something out, resulting in more time to interact with him and investigate.

When she reached the now overly enormous group of people, she stepped out of the car and walked around to the side. Briana figured it would be best if she stayed on the sidelines and not interrupt the festivities that were taking place. Dominic celebrated his victory with everyone around him, shaking hands, collecting his money, and getting close to Letty.

In the different area of the crowd, Edwin was searching for the woman that had approached him in his car earlier. **_Edwin, don't go to her, she just diss you cause you're not the winner. _**Unfortunately, Edwin found her, and when she dissed him and walked away Briana couldn't help but joke along with the other people that laughed hysterical at the woman's comment.

"Was that fun?" Jesse approached Briana and headed for the hood of the Eclipse. He grinned at her as he felt for the latch to unlock the hood. When he finally got it open a cloud of smoke billowed from the engine. The crowed 'oooed'.

"What are you smiling' about?" Dominic's very masculine voice rang out, catching everyone's attention. The crows then looked to Briana in anticipation of her response.

"I almost had you," she replied.

"You almost had me?" Dominic said sarcastically while pointing at himself. "You never had me, you never had your car! Ganny shiftin' not double-clutchin' like you should," he continued. A smug expression was pasted on all of his features. Everyone that was gathered around laughed at his comebacks. "You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake." The crowed agreed with everything he said. "Almost had me?"

As Dominic kept smart-mouthing her, Briana went on into her own thoughts. Dominic spoke about everything she did wrong and told her everything she should have done. Could he have been using the expertise that he gained racing cars while hi-jacking semi's in the dessert? **_The driver's of those black Honda Civic's drive with exact precision at high speeds. Dominic are you one of those drivers?_**

A loud thud violently drew Briana out of her thoughts. Dominic had just closed the hood of the Eclipse and was now starring right at her. He had a serious look in his eyes and he took a few steps towards her. "Ask any racer, any real racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile." He said with passion in his voice. "Winning's winning."

When he finished his little speech, everyone began to cheer. Dominic smiled at Briana, hailing the screams he got from his people. But it didn't last. All of sudden, chaos broke loose. People began to separate and run to their cars. It was amazing at how fast they were gone. Briana was bewildered. She didn't understand what was wrong until she heard squad car sirens sounding in the air.

"Cops," she whispered, as she joined the mass crowd in rushing to get away. As she reached for the door handle, the first of a mass of squad cars burst onto the screen. **_Damn, _**she thought**_. This is not supposed to happen, this isn't apart of the plan!_** She frantically looked around for Dominic. She had gotten so far; she couldn't just loose him now. In a hurry she swung the car door open and started to get in when she saw Dominic's car. He had just begun to speed away. At this point she found herself with a large decision. She could either go home empty-handed or try to follow Dominic.

It was no biggie. She had to follow Dominic.

**Chapter 6In Good Graces**

Pressing of her foot on the breaks, Briana brought the Eclipse to a smooth stop along a side street. She cursed under her breath softly as to she was both tired and a bit angry. She'd lost Dominic in the heap of cars that were rushing to get away from the cops and was at a loss of what to do. Finally deciding to call it a night, she put the car in first gear and began to drive.

"Great now what am I supposed to tell Tanner and Bilkins in the morning?" She rolled her eyes. Her two superiors would not be happy at the outcome of the night's events. Briana could see the look on Bilkins' face already. From the beginning, Briana could tell that the FBI Lieutenant didn't really trust her to get the job done. She knew Bilkins thought she was too young and didn't have enough experience to go undercover. And Briana was determined to prove him wrong, but how could she when the night ended in a bust.

"Well, this isn't my fault," she continued speaking to herself. "No one told me there was going to be a raid tonight."

Ahead of her, Briana could see the intersection of Ryerson and Jarvis. She would have to go straight ahead on Ryerson to get back to Harry's garage. When she was a half way there, a squad car drove across Jarvis. She slowed to a stop. "Damn uniforms," she cursed.

Inside, she felt she shouldn't be cursing uniformed patrol officers. After all, a couple of months ago she was one of them. But she loved being of higher rank and was determined not to go back. **_Clam down Bri Bri, they're just doing their jobs. _**She brushed a stray hair out of her face. **_Lets just get home and get some sleep._**

Briana decided to stay there for a few seconds until she knew the squad car was gone. She used the time to look herself over in the vanity mirror hidden in the sun shield. As she smoothed over her hair and fixed her shirt, she was startled to hear the sound screeching tires not to far away. She was sure it was the squad car.

"Great!" Briana huffed. "I think they saw me." She got ready to make a quick get away. Since she was in the Eclipse, she was subject to be pulled over and questioned by the officers. But, she really didn't feel like explaining herself to smart mouthed officers.

"Toretto!" A male voice hollered loud and clear. It sounded as if it were coming from a megaphone on the squad car. "Stop right there! Toretto!"

Briana's eyes widened and she sat up straight. "Toretto?" Briana whispered in disbelief. "It can't be."

She quickly sped towards the intersection and stopped at the end of the street. She looked to her right and saw Dominic sprinting down the road in a desperate attempt to get away from the squad car that was chasing him.

Clasping her hands together, Briana looked up. "Thank you God." She smiled.

Not sure of exactly what she was going to do, Briana pulled onto Jarvis and sped after Dominic. She glanced back in her rear view mirror; there was a big distance between her and the cops. She had a good chance of outrunning them.

**_Look back, look back, _**she urged Dominic to turn around and see it was she behind him and not the cops. Recognizing that was probably not going to happen, Briana pressed harder on the gas and the car outraced Dominic. She made a 90-degree turn and the car made a violent stop in from of Dominic.

Dominic, unable to stop suddenly, was forced to hold out his hands in order to not bump into the car. He looked shocked to see the Eclipse there.

"Get in!" Briana hollered. She was confident he wouldn't turn down her offer and just as she thought, he stealthily opened the door and hopped into the car. Before he could shut the door properly, Briana began racing away from the squad car.

Both her and Dominic were silent as she drove. **_Now's the time to show Dom what I'm made of, _**Briana reasoned. As she drove forwards, Briana was stunned to see two patrol cars approaching her in the opposite direction. They both made a 45-degree turn and came to a halt in the middle of the street, setting up a roadblock.

The Eclipse was moving too fast to stop in time to avoid the squad cars. Instead, Briana prayed there was enough space to squeeze through. Her heart pounded as she got closer. She'd never done anything like this before. Her palms were becoming sweaty but she was determined to get through.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Dominic let out. Briana saw him grab onto the handle over the door in the corner of her eye.

**_Please! Please! Please work! _**Narrowly, the Eclipse went through the barricade the cops had set up. Once again, she looked back into the rear view mirror. The squad cars were becoming very distant. She sped on, until she was sure she lost them.

For a little while there was a silence in the car. Briana used the time to reflect on how well the night turned out. She'd participated in the race, found Dominic, and got away from the cops. While downshifting, she let out a heavy breath.

"You're the last person in the world I expected to show up." Dominic started a conversation.

"Yeah well, I thought if I got in your good graces, you might let me keep my car." Briana answered him, proud of the charisma conveyed in her response. She was getting the hang of pretending to be someone else.

"You're in my good graces but you ain't keeping your car." Dominic chuckled.

Briana rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten that Dominic now owned the Eclipse. She didn't say anything after that. Instead, she concentrated on the road.

"You drive like you've done this before. What are you a wheelman?"

Briana gave Dominic an awkward look.

"Or, I'm sorry...a wheelwoman? ... A _wheelperson_?" Dominic struggled for the right word

"No."

"You boost cars?"

"No. Never."

"You ever done time?"

Briana paused. This question would require her to be somewhat dramatic. She sighed heavily before answering, making sure she to avoid eye contact with Dominic. She wanted to look as if she were lying because she knew Dominic was aware of the answer to the question. "I've done a couple of overnighters. But that's no big deal, right?"

"What about the two years in juvie for boostin' cars?" Dominic said with a smug look on his face. "Hah. Tucson, right?"

Briana nodded while rolling her eyes. She acted as if she didn't want him to know about her past. From what she figured, she had to make Dominic feel that he was the one in control.

"Yeah, I had Jesse run a profile on you Briana Michelle Spilner. He'll find anything on the web, anything about anybody. So why bullshit?"

"Dom," she began. "Back then I was young and dumb. I didn't know any better. But that was the past. I'm living for now." She slowed to make a turn onto another street. Briana wasn't really sure where she was going, but figured the longer she drove around with Dominic, the more she would find out about him as they spoke.

"So what about you?"

"Two years in Lompoc. I'll die before I go back."

Everything suddenly became quiet. Briana heard the hurt and the pain in Dominic's voice. And she didn't know what to say.

"Oh great!" Dominic said sarcastically. He broke the silence just about as fast as he had created it.

"What?" Briana said confused.

"It's gonna be a long-ass night, that's what."

Soon Briana saw what Dominic was talking about. A gang of motorcycles was behind them, and in seconds they had the car surrounded. One of the bikes pulled up to the driver's side. She tried to look at who it was while paying attention to the road. The driver on the bike pulled out an automatic riffle and rapped it against the window.

"Follow us," its owner ordered, aiming the firearm at her.

She wasn't 100% sure, but Briana was pretty sure the man was Lance Tran. It was hard to tell because the he was wearing the helmet. Ant if it was Lance, that meant his cousin, another suspect in the investigation was one of the other riders.

"Just be calm. They're only trying to intimidate us," Dominic whispered. "Go with them."

"Dom, do you really thing that's a good idea?"

"Trust me Bri. I've dealt with these guys before."

"Whatever you say," Briana said. What other surprises could the night have in store?

**Part 7In the Line of Fire, The Night Only Gets Longer, There's Always more to a Story, Longer-Ass Night, Only Gets Hotter**

With smooth and precise movements, the motorcyclists guided the Eclipse to a deserted street in the dark atmosphere of the night. Briana gulped. She didn't like the idea that she didn't know where she was. Following the two riders in front of her, she maneuvered the car into a driveway that lead to the parking lot of a Japanese restaurant. As she got closer, she figured out where the riders had taken them to the Tran family's restaurant in an upscale district of the city.

"This looks like is a sticky situation, Dom. What do we do?" Briana asked while staring out the windshield, trying to pay attention to the road.

"Just be calm and let me do the talkin'," Dominic told her in a commanding voice.

"Alright," Briana shrugged.

The parade of metal and wheels came to a halt about 30 feet away from the entrance of the restaurant. Briana shut off the car and watched the riders carefully.

"Come on," Dominic said as he reached for the door handle. He got out of the car and shut the door. As he waited outside, he fixed his jacket and gazed back to see if she followed.

Briana saw that as her cue to exit the car. She closed the door quietly as she got out. She was unsure of what was about to take place and didn't like it. Looking over to Dominic for support, she gave him an, 'I hope you know what you're doing' look. She was reassured when Dominic nodded his head as if to say 'everything's going to turn out all right'.

She watched as the riders, most accompanied by pretty women, dismounted their bikes. They all took off their helmets to reveal who they were. As Briana thought, they were all Asian, and were all members of Johnny Tran's crew. The men spread out, encircling Dominic, the Eclipse, and her. They were built to intimidate. Most were tall and well built, their expressions fearless.

The one rider that stood out to her the most was Lance, Johnny's cousin. Lance was a little on the short side and looked like he was weak, but Briana knew better. She'd read his file before. In Lance's case, looks were deceiving. He had a history of violence and she wasn't going to turn her back on him for a second.

As Lance walked around brandishing his automatic assault riffle, Briana could feel her heartbeat increase little by little. The whole situation was nerve wrecking. Out on the Tran's property anything could happen.

As she stood there, Briana noticed that the men weren't actually doing anything. It was as if they were waiting for something. **_Where's Johnny?_** She finally recognized what was missing.

Her question was answered when a man emerged from behind the group of riders. It was defiantly Johnny Tran. He was dressed in leather pants, a dark shirt, and a leather jacket. He seemed very confident, as if he didn't have a worry in the world. He looked around and then strolled over to them.

"I thought we had and agreement," he said out loud. "You stay away. I stay away. Everybody stays happy." As he spoke, he took a few steps to the right, and then a few steps to the left, looking over the Eclipse. It seemed he was more interested in the car than what was going on.

Assuming the question wasn't for her, Briana stayed silent and listened for Dominic's answer.

"What do you want me to tell ya, Johnny?" Dominic begun. "We got lost."

As if 'we got lost' was a magic phrase, Johnny instantly stopped what he was doing and looked over to Dominic. "Who's we?"

"Ah," Dominic scratched the back of his head searching for a response. "My new mechanic, Briana. Briana, this is Johnny Tran. The guy in the snake skin pants, that's his cousin Lance."

After the introduction, Johnny went back to looking over the car. It was as if he was mesmerized by the car's beauty. He went past Dominic and carefully ran his hand over the lime green paint job, starting from the roof and working his way to the back. "This your car?" He stopped and looked at Briana.

"It was. Its his now." Briana nodded towards Dominic.

"No its not. I haven't taken delivery," Dominic almost instantly said after Briana's answer.

Briana furrowed her eyebrows and looked over to Dominic. **_What is he doing?_** She questioned herself.

"Then it's nobody's car." Johnny added in his two cents. "Well somebody put in the wrench time. What do you think Lance?" He gazed over to his cousin."

"Its an amazing machine," Lance nodded his head.

"Yes indeed," Johnny nodded his head. He turned to Dominic and gave him a pat on the shoulder before strolling back over to his bike. "I'll see you in the dessert next month. Be prepared to have your ass handed to you." He mounted and put on his helmet. The rest of his crew followed Johnny's every move.

Dominic chuckled. "Your gonna need more than that crotch rocket."

"I got something for ya."

Briana gave the gang a suspicious look as they geared up and left. She was filled with a million questions and wanted the answers but knew she wouldn't be able to get them for now. **_That was an interesting confrontation. Confusing, but interesting. And what's going down in the dessert? _**She wondered.

Snapping out of her dumbfounded state, Briana rested an arm on the roof of the car. "So what was that all about?" She said to Dominic in a peculiar voice.

"It's a long story, I'll tell ya later." Dominic exhaled. "Lets go."

The two started to get into the Eclipse but stopped when they spotted two riders return to the scene. **_Oh great, what's happening now! _**

Briana's eyes widened when she saw the two pull out two riffles and aim them at the Eclipse. When she saw Dominic back away from the car, she figured that was the smart thing to do and backed away too. She covered her ears as the rider pulled the triggers to their firearms and gunshots rang out. She got low to the ground and waited out the shots. She felt some of the bullet casings bounce off of her body and roll to the ground.

After what seemed like an eternity, the shots stopped. She looked up and watched the two riders, who she was sure was Johnny and Lance, exit into the night.

**_Shit! The car!_** She stared at the Eclipse in disbelief. It was brand new and beautiful a few moments ago. And now it was full of bullet holes and set aflame. **_How am I supposed to explain this? _**Was all she could think.

"NOS!" Dominic screamed out, catching Briana's attention.

**_What'd he say? _**She contemplated for a moment.****When she saw Dominic run away from the car, she got it. **_Oh shit! The NOS!_** She began to run as fast as she could.

As she ran, she heard the loud explosion that took place behind. She felt a scorch of heat warm the back of her body and then disappear. When she felt she was far enough away, stopped and turned around. The car was totaled.

**Part 8Inside Information**


End file.
